Good news, bad news

How about starting with the good news? Family medicine is among the 10 best paid occupations in the country, at least according to Forbes. Note: That's not the 10 best paid medical specialties; it's the 10 best paid occupations of any sort. Even better, at $161,490 per year, the average family physician makes $1,050 more than the average CEO. Congratulations! (No way to tell whether the CEO salary figures count golden parachutes, though ... )

You already know the bad news, I'm sure: While family physicians make the top-10 list, they're number nine, behind general surgeons, anesthesiologists, orthodontists, obstetricians and gynecologists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, general internists, prosthodontists, and a group called "other physicians and surgeons" – those outside the "main specialties."

Don't despair. That doesn't mean that family physicians are the worst-paid physicians in the country. Other major specialties didn't even make it into the top 10. General pediatricians made 13th place, for instance, behind general dentists and psychiatrists. And lawyers show up in 16th place. See? Even the bad news isn't that bad.

Posted at 10:51AM Aug 04, 2009 by Bob Edsall  |  Comments[0]